The present invention relates to infant playthings, and more specifically to playthings co-ordinated with the stages of learning and development in the first years of life. The toy of the present invention is designed to invite interaction and provide a stimulating response to such interaction. The toy invites and responds to the predictable patterns of hand movement and manipulative activities learned and practised in the first year and a half of life.
Within about the first week of life, a child exhibits a reflex grasping action with which he will attempt to wrap his fingers around and grasp anything placed in contact with his palm. As this grasping technique is developed it becomes accompanied by arm movements, the first of which take the form of random movements in a predictable arc over the body while the child is laying on his back. At a very early age, the child will attempt to grasp objects encountered in this random arm movement.
For many years, infant developmental testing kits and specifically the Gesell Kit have included a wooden ring approximately six inches in diameter that was painted or stained red. The ring was used to test eye tracking and reflex arm movement and grasping. This testing was accomplished by suspending the ring on a string, and moving it slowly back and forth above the face of a reclining child. The ring was developed from an embroidery hoop which had proven a successful grasping object for young babies. The ring, however, is of limited use in that it offers little response to manipulation, and does not encourage later developing patterns of voluntary reaching and grasping, hand passing, and letting go, as will be explained below.
Other manipulative toys which incorporate a number of rings are the "Space Rings".TM. marketed by Creative Playthings and the "Gyro" marketed by Agate Plastics Corporation. The "Gyro" has three rigid concentric rings with a single rigid axis that extends therethrough. The "Space Rings".TM. has three rigid concentric rings. The largest ring has two opposed knobs on its inside surface which snap into openings in the outer surface of the middle ring, providing an axis of rotation of the largest ring with respect to the middle ring. The middle ring, in turn, has two opposed knobs on its inside surface which are located along a line which is perpendicular to the line described by the knobs of the outer ring. The knobs in the middle ring snap into openings provided on the outer surface of the smallest ring, providing an axis of rotation of the middle ring (and largest ring) with respect to the smallest ring. Thus, while the toy has an altering, rather than a rigid, axis, the axis of each ring is normal to the axis of its next innermost ring, and all movement is rotational about a common center. Both toys are limited in their movement, providing a limited response during play, and offer a limited number ofgrasping sites for continued interaction.
Another prior art toy consisting of a number of rings is disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. 140,681 to Stuart. The toy comprising three discontinuous or open concentric rings attached together with a string or cord. The openings in the rings are aligned, the string passes through the rings, along one side of the openings, toward their center; and back out again along the other side of the openings. This structure does not have the limiting axes of rotation seen in the "Space Rings" or "Gyro", but exhibits such an independence of movement of the rings to severely limit the toy's ability to provide an interesting and enticing response to manipulation.
During the earliest stages of a child's development, the toy of the present invention may be used in a manner similar to the Gesell ring to practice and develop reflex grasping as well as eye tracking. The toy may also be held by the primary handle or end object and twirled to present a moving, 3-dimensional viewing object. The ring structure offers a grasping object with no top or bottom or ends that the child's hand could easily slip off of without accomplishing a grasp of the object.
At some time between six weeks and three months a child's replex grasp gives way to a voluntary grasp, and between three to six months of age a child learns to bring to its mouth the objects it has grasped. This results in a predictable pattern wherein the child grasps an object with one hand, grasps it again with the other hand, and, if then in control of the object, brings it to his mouth. The toy of the present invention is designed to accommodate and encourage these early stages and patterns of grasping by providing numerous possible grasping sites.
Between six and nine months, the child learns to transfer objects from one hand to the other. The toy of the present invention encourages the child to begin and to practice this sequence of actions. Once initially grasped, the toy responds by moving to create different configurations and opportunities for grasping with the other hand. This movement is accompanied by a quivering, shaking action of the rings and central object which attracts the child's attention and may also cause a bell located in the central object or end object to ring. One of the objectives of the design of this toy was that it be most responsive to random movement and offer a seemly endly variety of shapes and potential grasping sites for this hand-to-hand practising. Coordination is developed by this practice and repetition, and the movement and variety of configurations assumed by the Red Rings provide many different practice sequences for the development of co-ordination.
A little later on in the child's development, between nine and twelve months, he learns gradually to let go of an object. The child first releases his grip unconsciously and slowly, often causing the toy to drop on himself, or possibly, in the case of a large ring, causing the ring to slide down his arm. At this stage in his development, the child would encounter difficulty disengaging his arm from the ring. The smallest ring and central object of the preferred embodiment prevent the ring from travelling down the child's arm, and also provide many opportunities for finger grasping and entanglement which discourage the unintentional releasing of the toy, thereby aiding in this stage of development.
Throughout the life of the toy, play opportunities can be expanded by the involvement of an adult. These expanded opportunities include a gentle "tug of war" (particularly desired by children from six to nine months) and a whole variety of imitative games, usually begun at about nine months, wherein a child will attempt to mimic various manipulative steps and sequences performed by an adult and will later, during independent play, attempt to recreate these movements with the toy.